Heaven Forbid
by OptimisticMuffins
Summary: Without a warning, she left. Years later, by nothing more then fate, he finds her again. Can Ryou help Ichigo when she needs it most, even if she pushes him away? RxI
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew and I don't care enough to make my disclaimers cool. **

**So I've had this idea in my head for awhile, and I've been writing more of my stuff on the computer lately and getting it out of my notebooks. This will be a Ryou/Ichigo fic. I'm going to do my best to keep Ichigo in character, but she'll still be a little different (how could she not, after what happened? ;) hint hint). **

**Happy Reading!**

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_To Café Mew Mew:_

_At first, I thought my life was over. I didn't make it a secret that the arrangement of being a Mew was one I wasn't happy with, as some of you might recall. But as we've worked together, it's something I wouldn't change for anything. _

_We may not have always gotten along, but I want you to know that even though we argued, I never regretted the time I spent here. The memories I have and the lessons I've learned are precious. I will never forget you all._

_I'm sorry._

_This is goodbye._

_Love always,_

_Momomiya Ichigo_

It had been taped to the basement door. He thought it was a joke, that she didn't mean it, that she wouldn't be able to stay away. But after seven days stretched into seven weeks and longer, past the time when saying her name meant broken plates, angry faces, and bitter tears, and after it became an unspoken agreement that she wasn't ever mentioned, Ryou was forced to accept what he tried to deny.

Ichigo Momomiya was not coming back.

**Aaaaaand there it is! I love doing these little prologues to my stories…I really don't know why. Anyways, I'll do my best to have the next chapter up soon, but I'm not giving any hints! It'll all be revealed later on as we go. (Aside from the teensy and completely unhelpful one up by the disclaimer ^_^ )**

**Love and huggles**

**OptimisticMuffins**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey y'all! Sorry, I know it's been a super long time, but life has been crazy. Although I quit varsity swimming, I've taken up drama, plus applying to college and trying to keep on on everything and working...does not leave me much time to write. But I finally got this one done! I (and everyone reading this chapter) owe a huge thank you to Azurii for the posting of this. I received a review about a week ago and the fact that someone reviewed on a story that hasn't been updated in...I don't even know how long...really inspired me to finish this chapter (which I'd started and then left for awhile) and get it posted, so THANK YOU! I hope this doesn't disappoint.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew.

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Ryou ran a hand through his hair and sighed in frustration as the signal on his screen vanished, leaning back in his chair. Keiichiro had gone to bed, of that he was sure. The pastry chef had finally promised to stop staying awake with Ryou, knowing the blonde would easily stay up into the wee hours of the morning working at his computer. It happened often enough that it had long since become a habit. Not that he hadn't done this quite often before Ichigo left.

'_Ichigo…'_ The name echoed through Ryou's mind as he glanced at a picture of the cat-girl which hung above the row of monitors. Within the week after Ichigo's letter, the café staff had quickly discovered her motives; an investigation from Ryou and Keiichiro themselves resulted in a visit to burned, charred remains of a house. Zakuro discovered not long afterwards that Ichigo's parents had both perished in the fire that destroyed the Momomiya residence, the cause of which had not been discovered. Keiichiro had been horrified, and Ryou had been surly and inconsolable for months afterwards; he couldn't help but feel that he failed Ichigo in every way possible. As hard as he had looked, he couldn't find her anywhere. He knew that the others had given up hope a long time ago; after all, if she had stayed away for one year, it was highly unlikely she was suddenly going to reappear after five. It hadn't been easy for the girls to let go of their expectations; after all, signals of the Chimera Animals they had thought were gone (and sometimes an alien with it) cropped up regularly, and were always joined quickly by Ichigo. For awhile, they tried to reach the indicated destination with all speed; but each time the remaining Mews tried, Ichigo and her opponent were gone. It was crushing for himself and Keiichiro to see the team, hopeless and dejected, return to the café after each attempt. The two had eventually decided (with Zakuro's urging) to keep information of Ichigo's appearances secret from then on, and it had worked as well as could be expected. At any rate, the wild goose chases had come to an end.

The search had continued for the creators of the Mew Project for awhile. Ryou heard from some of the team that Ichigo's friends had asked if they knew anything, and himself had received a letter from that Aoyama kid in England, who had been worried when he received a farewell note not unlike the one Ichigo had left at the café. Eventually, though, as time passed, Keiichiro as well began to give up and tried his best to convince Ryou of the futility of their efforts.

But Ryou hadn't given up. He recorded the data each time something popped up, praying for some pattern or some statistic that could give any hint as to Ichigo's whereabouts. So far, the only thing he had concluded in five years was that she never came into the park. Once or twice a Chimera Animal entered the green space, and the four remaining Mews were quickly dispatched, but Ichigo would never enter the park's borders. He suspected she knew she would be found within ten minutes by her team if she ever entered the boundaries and that her central location was too far away from the park for any attack there to be effective on a regular basis. He also concluded that her powers had grown tremendously in strength; where she previously had needed four teammates to help take down Chimera Animals and at least fight evenly with aliens, she seemed to be able to take down any Chimera Animal thrown her way and fend off the alien which constantly targeted her (for Ryou was certain it was the same alien each time, and that Ichigo was being exclusively targeted).

Giving one last glance at the monitors, Ryou gave up and rose from his seat. At times like these when he grew tired of staring endlessly at screens, he went for midnight prowls, and although he gleaned virtually nothing from his ventures, the clear air helped him think. '_Exactly what I need, more time to think_,' Ryou thought sarcastically to himself as he slipped out the door, his cat ears twitching in the gentle breeze. He yawned and flexed his paws, heading off in the direction of nothing in particular, his mind churning over the facts he'd memorized years ago in the hopes of finding something he might have missed. It was nights like this when he was thankful for Keiichiro's scientific tinkering which enabled him to remain a cat for as long as he wanted, giving him the freedom to wander aimlessly like his thoughts. Ryou was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't realize how far he'd traveled or where exactly he was when a loud bang shattered his ponderings. He looked around and saw he was somewhere unfamiliar and extremely deserted; his tail twitched for a moment before he decided on a course of action and hurried towards the source of the sound, hearing more and more noise as he grew closer. Suddenly there was a flash of light and his heart stopped; it was so familiar, so…_warm._

"You son of a bitch!" a feminine voice yelled angrily, followed by a mocking laugh. Ryou's ears twitched again, and he fairly ran towards the sound. It had been awhile, and she sounded older, but it _had_ to be…

And yet, when he finally reached the source of the sound, the only sight that greeted his eyes were rapidly vanishing ripples in the air. His heart sank, and as he glanced desperately around the small area for any sign that Ichigo had been there, he saw a black cat's tail vanish around the side of a building.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTT

"Are you sure? It could have just been a coincidence, Ryou," Keiichiro said from his place near the counter as he put down his frosting bag. It was just before the girls usually arrived for work the next morning and Ryou had completed telling the chef what he'd seen the night before, including his conclusions. "You said yourself that you lost track of that cat when you tried to follow it through the city."

"It wasn't, I'm telling you! She's a black cat, and it had to be her voice—there's no way I'd mistake that. And you can't reason away those teleportation waves I told you about," he added hastily from where he was leaning against the wall as he saw the brunette frown and open his mouth to argue.

"True," Keiichiro sighed. "Ryou, I'm not saying it's not Ichigo, but at least be careful. We stopped letting the girls know about our data because it became to hard to constantly come up short. I haven't said anything, but sometimes I think you obsess about it a bit much."

"Maybe," the younger man said with a shrug. "But we're the ones who put that gene in her, and it's our responsibility to make sure she's safe and taken care of."

"You've always liked her more than you let on," murmured Keiichiro, smiling despite his worry as he turned back to his creation. "I sometimes feel that we had a strange sort of family here, and in most ways we still do, although it's not quite the same anymore."

"That's why I'm not going to stop until I find her," Ryou declared with determination, crossing his arms.

"You know, you're 21. Eventually you're going to need a social life," Keiichiro retorted lightly. The blonde rolled his eyes in distaste.

"You get a girlfriend and suddenly you're all over me to get out more," he muttered in irritation. "I have more important things to do with my time, you know."

"Like chase someone who may have a perfectly valid reason for dropping all contact? I'm not going to stop you," Keiichiro said hurriedly, cutting off Ryou's coming retort. "I'm just advising you to…focus less on it. Get out some more. It's not healthy to be shut up with computers indoors all day when the weather's as nice as it is today."

"Yeah, I know. I'll try," Ryou grumbled, glancing outside at the blue skies and sunshine. He concluded (grudgingly and reluctantly) his friend had a valid point and decided to go out that day, just for a walk, to appease the chef, but in his mind he was already forming a resolution.

No matter what others said, he would not stop until he saw Ichigo again.

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**I know this is starting out slow, but so did Harry Potter (don't own...). Obviously there's no comparison, I could never HOPE to write that well, but my point is things will pick up soon. Thanks for reading! I can't promise to post soon but know I'm working on it!**

**OptimisticMuffins  
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